Normally this would fall into the realm of a Paizo Blog update, but I didn’t want this to get lost in the shuffle.

Every year at Gen Con, Paizo holds their own Pathfinder Costume Contest. Entering is as easy as: 1) Attend Gen Con, 2) Dress up as your favorite Pathfinder character/NPC/monster/iconic, 3) Stop by the Paizo booth and have your picture taken, and let them know you want to enter. Sure the first step can be non-trivial, but if you’re going anyway why not dress up and have some fun?

This year was an exceptional one for Pathfinder cosplay, and there are a bunch of excellent entries from which to choose. I hesitate to post any pictures here, since I don’t want you to think I’m backing one contestant over another. I mean, I am, but I’ve already voted. But if you follow the link you’ll see the gallery of this year’s contestants.

Voting closes on Monday, September 15 at 2pm Pacific. You can vote on any one person, so stop by and make your voice heard. These folks put a lot of work into their costumes, so show them a little love, Pathfinders!

Good morning, Pathfinders! As I write this, it’s all ready snowing where I live, making for a grey, cold morning. Let’s pull a chair up to the Paizo Blog and get warm, shall we?

As Monday was a holiday, Tuesday brought the first blog post of the week, a round-up of resources for the Iron Gods Adventure Path. Definitely worth a read if you plan to play or GM that AP (which I am; my steel breaker brawler will go down in legend). But it’s equally useful for Society play, as a handy guide to all the important books for the Year of the Sky Key. Don’t forget to check Additional Resources to see what’s legal, of course.

Wednesday saw the first installment in Stephanie Lorée’s Armored, the latest in Pathfinder Tales free web-fiction. Here’s the first paragraph as a little taste:

“The tip of her longsword carved a channel along the beachhead of Lake Encarthan. She dragged the weapon, held it listlessly in her hand. Hers were dark, dirtied hands that knew the weight of good steel, the heft of a man’s heart. She remembered a time when she was clean, though she could not recall the feeling of pristine boot soles, nor of a soul unstained.”

If this first installment is any indication, we’re in for another wonderfully layered adventure tale, something I’ve come to expect from the Pathfinder Tales short fiction. Give it a read, tell me what you think.

If you were one of the folks unsure about mixing technology and fantasy, Thursday featured a look at the blending of sci-fi and fantasy elements in literature. Turns out it isn’t a new thing; writers have been doing it since the 1700s to great effect. Besides serving as an overview of sci-fi/fantasy melds, the article is also a great reading list of some of our genre’s best writers. I know I’ve added a few of them to my Kobo already, as I get ready to wile away long winter nights.

Friday brought news that Erik Keith, long-time fixture in Customer Service, is moving over to his new roll as Paizo’s Software Test Engineer. While he will no longer have a direct hand in helping customers, Erik’s influence will still be felt as he tests all the upcoming features designed to improve the customer’s experience with the website. Best of luck in your new position, Erik!

And finally, Friday also brought another ‘Limited Quantities‘ post from the Paizo Store. If you’ve been holding off, waiting for the perfect time to pick up some books, you might want to check the list and make sure they’ll be there when you want them. Once the items on the list are gone, Paizo has no plans to reprint them, so don’t miss out!

And that’s it for another week. The snow continues to pile up outside, so I’m going to go make sure no bears are sneaking in to start hibernation. Until next week, Pathfinders!

After 10 minutes pass like sand through an hourglass, a chime brings the room naturally back to their seats and Ophelia returns to her place at the podium.

“Hello again Pathfinders. I am pleased to see all of you sharing your notes and hopefully adding a few additional notes of your own. However we are not quite done, so if you would turn to page 33, we will continue the lecture with a survey of the Wise Quarter.”

The Wise Quarter is the home of several prominent schools, libraries and different schools of study. Scholars and philosophers from all over the world over congregate in the Wise Quarter to teach, research, and debate all topics that are known to mortals on Golarion. The most prominent school of magic in all of Golarion resides here, the Arcanamirium. Gaining entrance is a rather daunting feat, and many students do not finish their education at this school due to the intensity and high standards placed on all students.

But for you the Pathfinder, the location of note you should remember is the Blakros Museum, which can be found in this district. The room begins to murmur at the mention of the Blakros Museum. For the last ten years, we have had an exclusive and comprehensive relationship with the Blakros family and the facilitators of the museum. Although the details of the relationship are enough to spark another lecture, it is important to know that when you act in relation to the Blakros family, you represent the Society at all times. If it were not for them, we as an organization would not be as far developed as we are concerning many archaeological findings and benefits.

Let us move onto what I call “The Gated Districts” which are the Eastgate and Westgate districts. They can be found on pages 38-42 in your books. Eastgate and Westgate serve as residential quarters for the majority of Absalom’s citizens. Most of the residents work in other districts and come home from their adventures to their townhouses and homes in either of these districts.

Like its namesake, Westgate lies on the western expanse of Absalom’s city districts. To the southeast is the Foreign Quarter and to the northeast is the Ivy District. This district is mostly a residential area, yet there are also a number of shops interspersed throughout. The Kortos Cavalry patrols the streets of Westgate as the Sally Guard, and man the Sally Gate on the western walls of Absalom. Eastgate is structured in the same way. It is south of the Precipice Quarter and to the north is the Petals District. Its signifier is the Blue Tower. It is made of pieces of light blue coral, forming a spiraling horn topped with a stone lighthouse. The tower is home to the Winged Sandals, an order of dedicated messengers who worship Iomedae. They say the order was commanded by Aroden himself to be ready to deliver messages to anywhere in Golarion. When magical means of communication don’t work or are not trusted, the Winged Sandals are capable of delivering a message to any place in the world.

Pages 43-58 in your books showcase the more “well-to-do” in Absalom, focusing on the Petal and Ivy Districts.

While the Ivy District is one of the smallest districts in Absalom, it is one of the most ascetically pleasing. It derives its name from its tree-lined streets, which attract a wealthier and more aristocratic demographic than the seedier parts of town located down the bluff toward the harbor. Filled with theaters, galleries, and discrete parlor houses, the district draws an eclectic array of artists, minor nobles and famous actors. But with money come extravagance; thus crimes such as prostitution and narcotics thrive among the hedonistic residents.

The Petal District rests atop the Watercleft cliff face upon a rise of land known as Aroden’s Hill. Known as the wealthiest district of the City at the Center of the World, it is also home to the most powerful noble families. The district’s name comes from the well-maintained rows of flowers which run down the center of almost every paved street in brick-framed medians. In the opulent palaces, decadent balconies, and elaborate gardens of the rich and powerful lies the dark truth of the life of the upper classes, who vie for power through poison and murder as often as armistice and negotiation. Two locations Pathfinders should take notice of are The Restful Pathfinder’s Lodge, which some of your teachers may call the “Seeker’s Club”, as many Seekers usually go and rest from recent expeditions. Also, the Tian-Xia embassy remains here despite their former head ambassador and former faction leader Amara Li returning to Tian-Xia.

The Foreign Quarter is known by its title. Foreign merchants with businesses find the area particularly attractive due to an equivalent extension of “citizenry protection” offered to any resident of the Foreign Quarter who has lived there for greater than 3 months. This area of the city has a distinct, culturally exotic feel, even compared to the city as a whole. Makes sense the Society would set-up its headquarters in this district! The Grand Lodge has been here for over four-hundred years! Etched in white stone and standing in the Foreign Quarter, its location grants us a view to not only all of Absalom, but pretty much the entire world.

Which brings us back full circle to this room. It is my hope this lecture has shown you the many wonders of Absalom. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask any one of your teachers and thank you for your time!

We all have things going on which cut into our game time; work, school, more work. It can be hard finding time to play/GM PFS, never mind the time to prepare for that play. I’ve felt the crunch myself, and I’ve found that vlogs, or video blogs, can be a great way to find information and instruction without adding to my reading load. I’ll usually pop them in as I’m working on other things, and I can absorb the information while I prep.

To help you out, Pathfinders, here are three vlogs I follow on YouTube. Each fills a particular information niche for me, from news and reviews to GM prep. I watch them every week, and I think they’re a good starting point if you’re looking to start your own vlog viewing schedule.

1) Dawnforged Cast – This is actually a YouTube Channel, encompassing a number of gaming vlogs. But there is a lot of good Pathfinder information here, along with a series specifically on Pathfinder Society play. As well, there are series on Pathfinder Basics, GMing Basics, an advice series on playing the various classes, and a weekly ‘Ask the GM’ event for viewers to get their specific questions addressed. A great channel to hit up, especially if you are new to Pathfinder and PFS, but useful to the veteran player/GM as a refresher.

2) The DM’s Craft – If you’ve ever looked at a GM’s amazing home-made terrain and wondered how you’d go about making some of you’re own, this is the vlog for you. Episodes cover everything from making textured dungeon tiles, to doors and dungeon dressing, to simple advice on tools to buy and how to work on a budget. My personal favorite is the vlog about creating gelatinous cubes. There are years of content here, so you’ll never lack for things to build. And each episode is easy to follow, important if you’re just starting your terrain building endeavors. If you’re looking for a way to elevate your table dressing as a GM, I can’t recommend this enough.

3) Know Direction – We’ve mentioned them before, but I really can’t stress enough how useful I find Know Direction. Not only do they provide up-to-date news on the state of Paizo and the Pathfinder game, but they post a great series of interviews with folks like John Compton and Mike Brock. As well, their Con Team does a great job of recording panels at both PaizoCon and Gen Con, making those available to anyone who couldn’t get to the cons (or like me, who was GMing for most of Gen Con). If I’m working on prep or designing a character for my next game, Know Direction is most often what I have on in the background.

So there’s three to get you started. Check them out and let me know what you think in the comments. Do you have gaming vlogs you can’t live without? Drop your suggestions in the comments as well.

September already, Pathfinders. You know what that means, we start the slow slide into winter. Luckily you’ll have these Paizo blog summaries to keep you warm. Let’s begin:

Monday started with a little PFS catch-up from John Compton, regarding the sanctioning of the Emerald Spire and The Mummy’s Mask. As well, he presented an important piece of art which was missed from a scenario; very important to the current season.

Touted as a perfect companion to your Iron Gods campaign, Wednesday saw the release of Tim Pratt’s Reign of Stars novel for the Pathfinder Tales line. Having had a chance to read it, I agree. If you are playing or GMing a game or campaign in Numeria, this novel will give you a great grasp of the look and feel of Numeria and the Technic League. Plus it’s just a really good story, and that’s always worth my time.

Before jetting off to Dragon*Con, Erik Mona gave us another miniatures preview from upcoming The Lost Coast set on Friday. A mixed bag this time around, as we got two very utilitarian minis and…Pazuzu?! Can’t wait to unleash it on an unsuspecting party of heroes!

And with most of the Paizo staff busy at either Dragon*Con or PAX this past week and weekend, that brings the summary to a close.

Back in July I ran a survey, asking folks about various aspects of the blog. Many of you responded (thank-you for that!), and I now have some really good feedback moving forward. I promised there would be prizes, and so there shall. Congratulations to Paul Rees for winning the signed set of Pathfinder Tales novels from Dave Gross; congratulations to Benoit Gros and Robynn Harris for winning the Pathfinder Tales novel of their choice. I’ll be contacting you soon by email to work out the details. And thanks again to everyone who completed the survey, you input was very valuable.

(Editor’s Note: Since I have recently returned from the Gamer’s Mecca that is Gen Con, and again, got in discussions with fellow GMs and players about what I carry when I’m ‘working’, I thought I’d reprise this article I posted to my own site about a year ago. A few things in here, like the Critical Hit and Fumble decks, are not useful for PFS. But overall I think it’s a helpful look at a decent GM kit. Hope you enjoy!)

I’ve had a few folks ask me, here and at Gen Con, what I carry with me to GM. So I thought I’d give you a virtual tour of my GM kit. First thing to note, I don’t always carry this full kit with me to every session. What I take depends on the game I’m running, and to a lesser extent who I’m running it for. For instance, most of what you’ll see in the kit is focused towards Pathfinder RPG and other d20 style games, because right now that takes up the majority of my GMing time. But if I were running a Gumshoe system game, I’d take almost none of this kit. So depending on what you run, your mileage may vary.

We start with the case that holds the kit. I used to just pile everything into a book bag, but that led to a lot of digging during play and a cluttered table when I GMed, and I hated it. There are gaming specific toolboxes you can buy, ranging from $30-$100. Or you can grab a regular toolkit from a hardware store in the $20-$50 range. The kit I use today was a lucky Ikea find; I picked up two of these simple tool boxes for $5 a piece in the “as is” section. It has plenty of space for everything and makes finding items on the fly a breeze. I highly recommend something similar if you are putting together a kit of your own. And if you don’t like a hard case for your kit, get a bag with as many little pockets as you can find, to help keep things organized inside.

Next up, dice and counters. My dice travel in my stylish Dragon Chow bag, and the bag is spacious enough to carry 4-5+ sets comfortably. I used to carry a separate bag of dice to lend new players and such, but these days I have no problem just lending out “my” dice. The counters I use are glass beads from a now defunct gaming accessories company, but you can get coloured beads on the cheap from dollar stores or gardening centres. I use them for everything from Hero Points in Pathfinder, to representing minions on a map when I don’t want to dig out twenty goblin minis. If you have them , you’ll find a use for them.

I always have a variety of writing implements, both for my use and to share. It is especially important to carry extra pencils, because at least one player will forget. But I also have pens, markers, and dry erase markers in two sizes; the large dry erase are used to draw maps, the smaller to write on my combat pad or make notes on the map. It is important to note: DO NOT mix up your markers and your dry-erase markers (but if you do, rubbing alcohol will remove the ink with a bit of scrubbing). Include a pencil sharpener if you use regular old pencils like me, and a dry cloth (not shown) to erase your map/combat pad.

Speaking of maps and combat pads…okay we weren’t but we are now. I always try to pre-draw my maps on the 1″ square map pads you can get at the stationary store, or through Gaming Paper. But I also bring my dry-erase Flip Mat so I can draw a map on the fly in case the players go somewhere I wasn’t expecting. I also pack along my initiative tracking pad. The pad pictured is the new Pathfinder release of their original tracking pad, and having used it through a busy Gen Con I have to give it an enthusiastic thumbs up. It is wet/dry-erase safe and magnetic, and comes with magnetic tabs. You can also grab a 8″x10″ whiteboard from a stationary store if you’re on a budget. Besides initiative tracking, I sometimes jot down quick notes or reminders during play. And while many GMs push to get away from using screens, I find mine too useful to get rid of. I hang notes to myself on the inside, and items for the players (condition cards, pictures and so on) on the outside.

Next, I include a variety of useful stationary items: sticky pads, index cards, clips (both bulldog and paper), rubber bands…the list goes on. Basically, if you might find it useful during a day of working at a desk, I likely have at least one or two of it in my kit. Need to remind the party they are still suffering the effects of that curse? Write the effects on a sticky or index card and clip it to your GM screen. Use the index cards to write notes to the players. Or write “Invisible” on a sticky and attach it to a player to remind you his character is invisible (I’ve only done that last one once, but it helped). You won’t always need every item every session, but when you don’t bring it that’s when the need pops up.

And I always pack along the minis I need for each session in a plastic baggy so they don’t spill into the rest of the kit. Larger minis will just nestle in the bottom of the kit as needed. I try not to pack more than I need if I’m travelling to GM somewhere else, though I will bring extras. And as I said before, the glass counters make great impromptu minions if required.

Now we get into items that are Pathfinder related, so if you aren’t running Pathfinder they won’t be of much use. I have my special card decks from Paizo: Critical Hit, Critical Fumble, Condition Cards, and Buff Deck. The first two I use to spruce up critical hits and fumbles during combat. While I usually save them for important “boss” fights, players in my Pathfinder campaigns love the twists and turns they add to combat. Fumbles become especially feared and memorable, now that they aren’t just an auto miss. The condition cards cover all the negative conditions from the Pathfinder Core Rulebook that can afflict players; I’ll either hand the card to the player, or if it affects more than one, clip it to my GM screen so they can all see. Same with the Buff Deck, which covers all the most common spell and class ability buffs. I find these last two decks super useful, because they cut down on time spent flipping through books during the game. Which in turn means more chances for me to torment my players mercilessly challenge my players.

Next are gewgaws and trinkets that definitely fall in the “your mileage may vary” category. I use some regularly, some not so much. But I pack them in the kit because when I need them, I usually really need them. At the top of the pic are my Dungeon Map and Hit Location randomisers. I try to be descriptive during combats, and the hit location die helps me come up with different body areas on the fly. The Dungeon Map die doesn’t get used as often, but I have had occasion to need a quickie five room dungeon, and it has saved my bacon. The metal squares are from Steel Sqwire and each has the necessary info for the effect stamped on it: Mounted Combat, Righteous Might, and Enlarge Person. Again, not always needed, but can be easily slipped under the affected mini and saves flipping through books for the needed effect. And I also have two sand timers, courtesy of Chessex. They arguably see the least use, but I have used them to great effect to move combat along or add tension during sessions (“You have until the sand runs out to disarm that trap…”). Worth it. I also bring my line-of-sight indicator (right), also from Steel Sqwire, to help avoid any arguments about who can see how much of whom. Basically, any gaming gewgaw that has a chance of keeping my game session running smooth will find its way into my kit.

And here we have the whole kit, loaded and ready to for a night of gaming awesome-sauce. With this kit plus my laptop with all my session notes and rule books, I’m ready for just about anything my players throw at me. Oh, players throwing things, another good reason I use a GM screen…

Do you have a GM kit? Or a must-pack item for either playing or GMing? Drop it in the comments below.

It seems like the answer to this question should be pretty straightforward, doesn’t it? Start on page one and read the words, in order, until you get to the last page. Well, not so fast there, screen monkey! There is more to this under-utilized art than meets the eye and you too can master the subtle ways of the well-prepared game-master.

What’s so important about reading the scenario?

Before we dive into the ‘how’, we need to spend a few moments on the ‘why’ so you don’t feel tempted rush past this important step in your zeal to get to the table. It may seem like most of ‘running a game’ is the part where you are actually running the game – rolling dice, flipping pages and making funny voices. However, the best GMs put in time beforehand to make sure all of that other stuff goes smoothly. Although some of that prep time may be spent on maps or creating cool props and handouts, the most important work goes into understanding the material you are going to be managing during the chaos of the gaming session and that means learning how to read the scenario like a pro.

To illustrate the importance of a good pre-read, allow us to visualize for a moment what it looks like when you don’t make time to do so. You sit down to run the twenty-six page long scenario that you just got a copy of, like, five minutes before mustering, and the first paragraph races by in a jumbled blur and then the PCs are asking you questions and you are fumbling through the pages looking for an answer before you make up something that sounds totally plausible only to be contradicted by the actual plotline two encounters later and then you have no idea how that ability works or even what rules book it comes from and the game time slips away in a panicked haze…

This isn’t an exaggeration. We know the many little tragedies of running unprepared because we’ve been there and we want to spare you that pain. You may very well have had a great experience running as, or playing at the table of, an unprepared GM, but those experiences are rare. Often a lack of preparation results in players who are completely confused about the story, combat encounters that are either horribly mundane or homicidally brutal, and an overall dissatisfying experience.

A few readers are no doubt frothing in a barbarian-like rage and incoherently screaming about how awesome it is to run games without preparation. Hey, that’s cool – no need for frothing. We’re not suggesting that ‘off the cuff’ GMing is wrongbadfun or invalid. It’s just incredibly difficult to pull off successfully with any degree of consistency, especially for those who are newer to the awesome side of the GM screen.

Start Reading!

The first read through of the adventure is for fun. Read it like a short story and try to get a feel for the flavor, pacing and obvious themes. In this read-through, the focus is on the adventure background and scenario summary at the beginning, as well as the read-aloud text throughout the adventure. Feel free to let your eyes glaze over stat blocks or mechanical details and focus instead on how the encounters could play out cinematically.

The goal is not to learn everything there is to know, but to understand the author’s intent. This valuable bit of knowledge will help immensely when the PCs ask weird but inevitable questions out of the blue like, “How does this NPC react when I show him my bedazzled codpiece holy symbol?”, or “Do the half-orcs seem to be motivated by blood lust or is it more of a smoldering outrage brought on by systematic mistreatment of their race and the underlying socioeconomic factors that keep them as a perpetual underclass?” or the ever popular “What is in the room and do I think I could set it on fire from here?” It is unlikely the author addressed these specific concerns, but if you have already visualized the story once in your head, it is much easier to pluck those details out (or make them up) on demand.

This read is quick and easy to accomplish during a break from work or study, in the bathroom, during a meeting at work, while tuning out your mom complaining about how she never gets to see you anymore…you get the idea. Since this is all about fluff and pretty much ignores crunch, the only thing you need access to is a copy of the scenario itself.

Go back and do it again!

This pass through the text is even quicker than the first. All that’s needed here is a confirmation of any details that were really important but somehow missed the first time and clarification of complex sections. Skim the majority of the adventure and focus in on any tricky explanations, especially for puzzle-solving or role-playing encounters or things that didn’t quite click for you the first time. If you like to have notes handy, this is a good time to start making them for easy reference while you’re actually running the adventure.

By the end of this step, you should be able to think of the scenario as an understandable outline of events and be able to plug in significant details as needed. As you gain experience, you’ll even be able to detect places where the adventure might go off the rails and identify ways to reunite the PCs with the plot, all while making it look like that was how it was supposed to happen all along.

Once more, with feeling…

Time to get crunchy! Your final review of the adventure is the most important and the easiest to procrastinate into non-existence because, well, it takes some work. But the agony it will save you at the table makes it all worth it.

This time you can glaze over the background details, most of the room descriptions and a lot of the information presented in full sentences, because now is the time for stat blocks. For some GMs, this is the language of love; for others the cold, hard mechanics seem intimidating. Either way, this pass can be broken into easy steps to gain maximum benefit.

Understand the NPC/monster. This foe has a type, perception abilities and a basic place in the encounter. Why this one instead of another? Reviewing the ‘Before the encounter’ tactics can provide excellent background on what the creature was doing before the Pathfinders barged into its life. How will it detect the party? Does it have an escape route, something important to defend or another goal it is trying to accomplish which the party so rudely interrupted? What motivates it to fight? Does it interact favorably with its environment or is it hindered in some way? How does it feel about any other creatures that are here and do they have complementary abilities? This ‘Monster Psychology 101’ exercise provides the background needed to make a great encounter.

Special Defenses. This saves you the agony of realizing, after one blazing round of combat, that the creature was partially immune to the fire thing the PCs did, and should still be hanging around giving them something to do instead of them gleefully dancing on its smoldering corpse. Don’t forget to look up immunities based on type – not just the ones called out in the stat block. Many creatures are immune to sleep, mind-effecting, critical hits, precision damage, etc. due to type and subtype but those resistances get forgotten in the rush of battle or the urgency of a character’s super-awesome class ability.

Special Abilities. Pounce, trample, burrow speed, blind-fight, awesome blow, overrun and an endless variety of special attacks are just a few examples of things the bad guy can do to elevate an encounter above your average slugfest. It is human nature to pass over the interesting abilities in favor of straight melee damage when we don’t really understand what the unfamiliar things do. Don’t be boring! Study up on specifics ahead of time and give the players a combat they will talk about long after the game is over. As a bonus, mastery of NPC abilities (no, first you roll a Fort save THEN you roll around on the floor like a toddler screaming in agony) makes you look like a Pathfinder savant. No one needs to know that you only studied the abilities used in this adventure. It will be our little secret.

Tactics. Following tactics is the key to running a fair PFS game. Now that you have read up on the BBEG’s awesome capabilities, it can be tempting to show your stuff and open combat with a well-placed thermonuclear blast, but that can be inappropriately deadly. Fun sometimes, we will admit, but not fair to your players and not good for bringing people back to the table again and again. Trust the designers and follow the tactics as written. Then use your knowledge of the story (NPC motivation from #1 above) and the abilities/spells/equipment available to adapt as the party creates new situations to which the baddies can respond. Not every villain is smart enough, controlled enough, or bloodthirsty enough to use its most effective attacks at the right time, every time.

Spell Descriptions. Sure, you may not need to look up magic missile anymore to know how it works, but what about the specifics of dispel magic or black tentacles? How about reckless infatuation? Most of us know (in general) what commonly-used spells do, but the specifics can make a big difference and unusual spells can have surprising effects. A quick review before you sit down at the gaming table can help you decide which spells to use (and when) as opposed to which ones are just taking up room in the spell book.

Random stuff you don’t want to have to look up later. Poisons and diseases are number one offenders in the category of “Stuff that brings the game to a complete halt while we look up (and argue about) how this is supposed to work”. Also in this category are rules refreshers on things such as: atmosphere (heavy rain, anyone?), lighting conditions, diplomacy, survival, underwater combat, haunts, traps and things of that nature. Blessedly, no scenario uses all of these, so if you prep the ones it does, you get to look like a rules demi-god or goddess at the table and legends will grow of your game-masterly prowess.

That’s all there is to it. One of the foundations of GM excellence, laid bare for your inspection. It is possible to prep too much, but in our experience, it takes a lot (a lot!) of prep time to cross that boundary. Usually, time spent preparing the scenario in advance directly translates into saving the most precious resource of all – time and attention at the gaming table. The effort you save on looking stuff up and figuring stuff out gets spent instead on making more awesome and memorable PFS action.

Welcome, Pathfinders! Another week, another summary. As you might expect the week after Gen Con, pickings were light on the blog. Let’s dive in!

Wednesday brought a preview chapter from the upcoming Pathfinder Tales novel Reign of Stars, by Tim Pratt. The novel sees the return of Pratt’s characters Alaeron and Skiver as they take on an investigation for the Technic League. This novel should tie in nicely with the Year of the Sky Key for PFS, and provide a good deal of scenario flavour for GMs. Plus these characters are just fun.

Paizo unveiled their new Community Guidelines on Thursday. Citing a desire for transparency and clarity, the new guidelines can best be summed up by Wheaton’s Law: Don’t Be a Dick. If you’re a regular poster on the Paizo message boards, you should probably give them (and the FAQ) a read.

Erik Mona brought us back to previews of The Lost Coast miniature set on Friday with a look at some scaly foes. I love that Paizo is working to get us all the dragons in all the size categories; as a GM I find that very useful. Dragons aside, I’m almost as excited for the Goblin Snake figure. I love those little psychos, so anything with goblin in the name is cool with me.

And that was our week at the Paizo blog. Hey, I said it was a short week. But on the bright side, it means you have more time to check out our pals over at Know Direction. They recorded a whole series of Paizo panels from Gen Con, just for you. If you didn’t make it out to Gen Con, or just missed the Paizo panels, I recommend you watch and get the scoop on what’s coming next over at Big Purple.

What news out of Gen Con has you the most excited? Let us know in the comments!

I am relatively new to on-line play. I had an overwhelming experience the first time I played PFS on-line at Roll20.net. More experienced players were running prewritten commands called macros and I felt like I was left in the dust doing everything manually. I did a little research and I’ll share here what I learned and where I learned it.

Quick Menu

Roll20 basics and How Commands work

In order to roll dice like a face-to-face game, Roll20 uses scripted commands to simulate that part of game play. You use a text chat box to send messages to other players but since Roll20 is usually used along with an audio chat program like Google Hangouts, the text chat box is normally only used for commands.

Basic Commands

Rolling Dice

The most basic way to roll dice is to use the /roll command or /r for short. The format is /r NdX+m; N is the number of dice to roll, X is the number of sides on the die, and m is the optional modifier.

Examples

Attack roll – /r 1d20+5 or /r 1d20-4

Damage roll – /r 1d8+7 or /r 10d6+10

Rolling inline

To roll dice inline, in the text chat box put the dice in double brackets like [[1d20]]

If you want your results to appear in a sentence seamlessly you could type something like:

I attack with my falchion [[1d20+7]] and if I hit I do [[2d4+23]] points of damage.

After I click Send, it displays like this:

Posting in Character

To post in character and be more flavorful. Use the /me command. For example, lets say I want to use a scroll of fireball. I could just tell the GM it is a DC14 reflex save and type /r 5d6 or I could type:

/me reads arcane gestures from a scroll of fireball sending a ball of fire that just can’t wait to immolate his enemies.
[[5d6]] Fire damage, half on a DC14 reflex save

What’s a Macro?

According to https://wiki.roll20.net/ a Macro is a “…user-defined short cut to commands you regularly want to repeat”. In simple terms, a macro lets you write out the commands in advance and tie them to a button or keyword to run the command quickly.

How to Make a Macro

Making a macro is just saving a command like the ones we did above. In the roll20.net interface, click the gear icon in the upper right hand corner.

Click the add button next to the word Macros.

You’ll get the edit macro box. This is where you enter the command you want. Name the macro, then type the basic command you want to save and click save changes.

Sample:

When I save it, it looks like this:

I check the ‘In Bar’ box so it shows up in the macro bar at the bottom of my interface. When I want to run it I type #attack-rapier in the text box or I click the attack-rapier button that appears at the bottom of the screen.

Useful Macros

Here are a few useful macros some of which use more advanced commands.

Initiative

Rolling initiative can take some time if you if you have to manually update an initiative tracker. Here is an initiative macro that will automatically add your initiative total to the tracker.

/me rolls for initiative
[[1d20+5.5 &{tracker}]]

In this macro I am writing my initiative with my initiative modifier twice separated by a dot so if another player in the tracker has the same initiative as myself, it sorts by modifier. To run this macro, click on your PC’s token, then run the macro

Prompt

If I am asked to roll something that I don’t have a macro for I can make a macro that prompts me for a modifier.

/me rolls a [[1d20+?{modifier|0}]] for ?{reason|no reason}

When I click the button, Roll20 will first ask me for the modifier, then it will ask me why I am rolling (defaulting to “no reason”)

Macro Tips

One of the great things about Roll20 is the ability to consolidate information to save time. For example, when I am prepping to play a game, whether I am running a spellcaster or a martial PC, I make macros for complicated abilities.

Skills and Feats

For all of my characters I create the following Macros. When you do this yourself, include your own modifiers.

Social

If the GM asks for any of the below skills click the Social macro and you are done. Just make sure you declare the skill you are using in the audio chat before clicking.

Spellcasting

When writing out a spell macro, in addition to the spell results I include save DCs, damage types, and things the GM might ask me for. Here’s a sample of a flaming sphere from one of my casters. I would just call this macro flaming-sphere:

/me takes a move action to draw an alchemist’s fire and intones the arcane command and weaves the necessary gestures mixing the tallow, brimstone, and powdered iron to create a flaming sphere using the alchemist fire to immolate his enemies.

Alchemist Fire Details: On the round following a direct hit, the target takes an additional 1d6 points of damage. If desired, the target can use a full-round action to attempt to extinguish the flames before taking this additional damage. Extinguishing the flames requires a DC 15 Reflex save. Rolling on the ground provides the target a +2 bonus on the save. Leaping into a large body of water or magically extinguishing the flames automatically smothers the fire.

I included all the rules the GM might need to know for quick reference and a caster level check just in case the target had spell resistance

Spells that don’t require rolls are also great to put in macros so the GM and other players can just read them. Here’s one for Haste.

This method works well for special abilities like the bard’s inspire courage. I’d call this macro inspire-courage:

/me tells a story using perform (oratory) inspiring my party
Perform check - [[1d20+15]]
Any ally that can hear me (including myself) benefits from the performance.
+2 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +2 competence bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls

Conclusion

On-line play gives us all more opportunities to play Pathfinder Society. Resources like Roll20.net provide fantastic opportunities but can be daunting. I hope these tips help make Roll20 more accessible. Right now I am working on learning how to GM in Roll20.net, as I learn things I will post more articles. There is always more to learn about tools like these. If you have any questions please post them in the comments.

References

The information I shared here comes from my experience in play and tips from players and GMs as well as from the following resource:

https://wiki.roll20.net/ – The roll20 wiki page is the best place to learn detailed information about roll20 and includes guides on not only macros but how to GM and set up more advanced features.

As I put this post together, it is 5:30am on the Monday after Gen Con. Whew! What a great weekend, so much gaming goodness. I’ll post my own recap later in the week, but for now let’s dive in to the Paizo blog summary. Not surprisingly, most of it involves Gen Con…

But first we start with Monday‘s announcement of the Season 6.0 Guide to Organized Play. Some pretty important changes to note, so if you don’t read the Guide (but read the Guide) at least read the post and see what’s different.

More Organized Play news on Tuesday, this time of the card variety. That’s right, Tuesday saw the official launch of the Adventure Card Guild with the download of its Guide to Organized play becoming available. If you plan to get involved in the Guild I highly recommend giving it a read. I will admit, I have never played the card game, but what I see of the Organized Play has me interested in trying it out.

From Wednesday onward, as you might guess, the blog was pretty heavy with posts and photos from Gen Con. If you want the full experience I suggest hitting the blog and reading through all the posts; there were many! I’ll hit a few highlights:

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